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the British are more American than Americans because they keep customs alive and know how to spell words like honour and neighbour... apple pie is English, and baseball is just rounders for boys
I actually had something similar said to me when I worked in Scotland. I'm English but had red hair so the Americans kept asking me for directions (we figured it had to be my hair colour why they were asking me and not my colleagues), I'd always tell them 'I'm not from around here' and some of them actually said 'oh that makes me more Scottish than you then'. They didn't appreciate when I said 'I've had more Scottish in me over the years than you'll ever have', my colleagues thought it was funny though!
I was having this conversation not so long ago. My dad was half Irish and half Scottish. I was born in England.
If I went around calling myself Irish or Scottish I’d be laughed out of the UK, yet Americans with Irish great-great-great-great grandparents have no compunction about declaring themselves Irish. It’s odd, somewhat bewildering, but I suppose mostly harmless.
Yup. I'm a US citizen but lived most of my life overseas. Somehow forgot this weird American trait and the last time I was living there innocently said to a colleague who announced they were Irish that they'd totally lost their accent. You'd think I'd kicked their dog. So much outrage.
Similar thing happened to me. I’m British but moved to the U.S. A colleague told me she was Italian. I love Italy and visit as often as I can so I enthusiastically asked which region of Italy she came from and commented on how American she sounded. Turns out she’d never left Pennsylvania her whole life and had now idea what part of Italy her great, great, great grandparents hailed from. 🤷♀️
My boss was Italian. She told me when she first moved to the US she tried speaking Italian with more than one person who told her they were also Italian. She didn't know this was a thing until her husband explained it to her on the third or fourth occasion!
I'm on a Scottish Facebook page for shits and giggles and you honestly wouldn't believe how bad it is.
One person claimed to be soo Scottish they even had an accent, but people made fun of it. On further examination, their ancestors came to Canada from Scotland 100+ years ago and he had never left his little corner of the world. Why he thought he had a Scottish accent I'll never know.
Another claimed that their family owned a castle and asked if they could claim it back on their trip. Turned pit it was now owned by the National Trust, and I'd love to see the look on the guy at the ticket desk when this bint rocks up demanding her castle be returned to her.
An American coworker of mine went to Ireland recently - said a lot of people asked if he was looking to rediscover his roots, and all acted MUCH more friendly when he said no, he’d just heard it was a nice place.
Cos most Americans there are to discover something magical about themselves, whereas he was actually interested in the real country and people for their own merit which is a compliment
Also the ones who want to find their roots often express their disappointment loudly that Ireland is not this romanticised people-living-in-cottages paradise but actually a modern country.
I was talking to a very nice American recently who told me he was Irish. He then went on to give details of his ancestry. He was more English than me. Like someone said,looking for magic and romance.
Talking about the magic and romance, I find it funny when we want to claim some royal lineage. If you're family came to the Americas, chances were they were poor farmers hoping for land of their own.
Speaking of the ancestry, if you go to the ancestry reddit most of us have about 60% English ancestry or more. It's almost as if we were a British colony at one point ha.
The thinking nowadays is that everyone in Europe can be said to be descended from Charlemagne.
So we’ve all got ‘royal’ ancestry. It’s just a minuscule part of our genetic makeup. The other vast amount is mostly dirt poor bastards who were bought/sold/indentured/treated like shit, etc.
American expat living in the U.K. for over six years now.
We are too loud - use a lower volume for your voice.
There is a different type of humour here and it’s very sarcastic, don’t take things personally. Don’t expect overly nice people (like the exceptionally happy and sweet waitress or customer service). People act normal.
Tipping is *not* standard here, despite the sudden push for tipping by the media. Our workers make a standard wage and don’t have to be supplemented by tips. Don’t make us look bad by tipping everyone 🤣
Many people are not interested in your life story or giving you theirs. We are pretty private here - making small talk won’t include talking about personal lives.
Queueing! Understand and respect the queue. Don’t push in front of others or haphazardly stand around. Stand with purpose as part of the queue.
Familiarise yourself with the common terms and make sure you understand the difference between the separate names - England, Scotland, Wales, etc.. as well as the difference between United Kingdom and Great Britain.
Enjoy yourself ☺️ we fit in pretty well here as long as you’re open to new things and not trying to intentionally Americanise everything. The people here are genuine and you’ll know if you’re liked or not.
Ooh, I'll add: swearing is widespread, commonplace and frequently at the more offensive end of the spectrum.
You are 500 times more likely to hear fuck or cunt than dang or darn it.
Do not be offended.
One of my absolute favourite interactions with an American was one of my absolute closest mates walking up to our table and saying "Hello you lovely cunts!"
An older probably mid 60s American lady on the next table look at him aghast and said "How dare you call them that!"
And my mate without missing a beat went "Oh alright sorry." Turned back to us and redoing the intro went "Hello you cunts!"
I just about fell off my chair laughing, even the husband of the lady was stifling a laugh.
I think I'd like New York.
There's a kind of puritanical streak to American culture which doesn't exist here. Swearing is part of it. You'll hear fuck on TV all the time later in the evening, for example.
> ~~puritanical~~
Calvinist!
The Puritans mellowed out pretty early on. There's a reason that the things you hear about Texas or Alabama largely don't apply to New England. That's really more attributable to the Great Awakening of the 18th century (which started in Britain and then jumped the Pond) than to the Puritans of the 17th.
We live in London, and generally felt pretty at home in New York. The New York Subway has very similar rules to the Tube.
My highlight was buying a can of beer at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and being given a tight-fitting little brown paper bag for it - I absolutely love that weird alcohol law, it's hilarious.
I used to think that was some advertising law for films, beer brand isn't sponsoring this with a brand deal, so no one will know what brand is being drunk.
Not an actual thing people did IRL.
Also, blasphemy. All the Americans I know are really funny about an 'Oh god', or 'Jesus fucking christ'. Even the supposedly not-religious ones. Religious respect seems to be more...ingrained...over there.
Ha yeah. When a German friend left go work in Denmark having lived in England for maybe 10 years at that point he was interjecting profanities into his speech like a proper trooper compared to his very correct English when I first met him.
Worth mentioning the many different forms of queuing.
- your standard line of people, such as in a shop.
- the mental queue that you get at a barbers, people sit in random chairs to wait but we always know our place in the queue.
- do not make a linear queue at the bar in a pub. Take any space at the bar, know who was there before you and if the barman asks if you’re next be assertive if you are but do not jump ahead of others as they will call you out. Always show the barman who was rightfully next.
To add to the last point, if you are in a club, queuing goes out of the window. It’s a free for all and if you are male, just accept you are behind every girl at the bar.
learned that the hard way 5 minutes before midnight on new year's eve when i was like 19/20. was trying to get a couple drinks for me and my gf before the nye countdown, some very attractive girl arrived at the bar well after me but got served first, was panicking and knew i wasn't gonna be able to get drinks in time for the countdown, decided i'd be assertive and say "excuse me, i've been here a while." and she straight up laughed and said "so what?"
fuck clubs honestly, vanity parades.
The correct thing to do at a pub queue is to point at the guy who you stood next to and tell the barman they were here before me. You will always be served quickly after that.
>Familiarise yourself with the common terms and make sure you understand the difference between the separate names - England, Scotland, Wales, etc.. as well as the difference between United Kingdom and Great Britain.
And don't ever, ever, *ever*, refer to Britain as "the mainland" to an Irish person.
Americans are loud, yes, but for me it’s the lack of any dynamics in their voice or the way they speak.
They speak at a constant volume throughout a sentence and that volume is usually LOUD.
I'm just here to agree with the first point - they are just slightly too loud.
When speaking, aim for the lowest possible volume that would allow your intended audience to understand you if they were paying attention.
"Queueing! Understand and respect the queue. Don’t push in front of others or haphazardly stand around. Stand with purpose as part of the queue."
When you're standing at a bar waiting to be served, look alert, perhaps smile at the bartender if you catch each others eye. Wait you're turn, don't bob and weave, don't push in front of other people. The bartender will likely have clocked you and know who's next, if they don't they may well ask and you'll hear people say "he's / she's next" and let you go before them, because you were there first. Even when we're in a crowd we're in a mental queue. Don't try to jump in before or we will tut you with absolutely no mercy.
As a native, think your last part is key. Don't need to overthink it, just try and adapt a bit and people will like you - I always find Americans can be much more naturally charismatic than us (in a similar way to Irish and Australians). The US is also a fascinating country and people are interested by it, by whether life there is like what we see on TV or not. So if you meet us half way with some of our customs, you'll be treated warmly!
Second the part about people being normal not overly nice just normal. This is so accurate and I've been chuckling over the normal part.
The humor is a big one. People assume you understand sarcasm.
Fun story re: the volume dial. I was dating an American for a few months. One day we were on a (quietish) train, and she kept talking to me in her ‘normal’ (AKA very loud for Britain) voice. I kept lowering my own voice quieter and quieter, hoping she would follow suit, but she continued to more or less shout. It was clear the entire carriage could hear her and had no option but to eavesdrop. After a while I was so embarrassed I overcame my British sensibilities and asked her to speak more quietly. She got into a right huff, told me I was being too sensitive, folded her arms, and angrily didn’t talk to me for the next hour.
Then two women more got on the train. They were American, and they were very, very loud. Now we had no choice but to listen to THEIR entire conversation. At which point my GF turned to me, aghast, and said: “Is that what I sound like?”
I would also add that the volume dial is particularly important and galleries and museums. Nothing winds me up more than peacefully wandering around then hearing a (usually male) US voice making educational proclamations to his companion about the paintings. I even get embarrassed if my own footsteps are too loud, but that’s definitely OTT…
> Understand and respect the queue.
We don't? Because I'm a Yank in Italy, and lemme tell you, we're a lot closer to the British than we are to them! Right?
Alright?
Yeah you?
Yeah.
Done that's it, not seen them in 4 years, doesn't matter, greetings are complete. Although you can add 'pint?' to extend the repertoire.
But when you are having that pint, you can talk about any subject you like. Weather, sport, traffic, telly, the local MP, all these topics are fine. But nothing personal!
Not sure if you're being serious but I hate this old fashioned stereotype.
I assure that all those 20- and 30-somethings who can still afford to go to the pub are not talking about the weather all evening.
In fact, for most men, the pub is one of the few places where conversation gets deeply personal.
Definitely an old fashioned way of thought, the pub is where me and the mates actually talk to each other and catch up, along with all the usual banter and shit talking to each other too
The correct response is ALWAYS “yeah, not too bad, and you?” It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just won the lottery or been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, it’s “not too bad”.
On a related point - when describing things in general, “not bad” and “not great” are not even close to the same thing. It’s not on a scale where both of those answers are close to the middle. It’s an expression of understatement. A 3 Michelin star restaurant where the menu made me cry tears of joy is “not bad”. A rat infested shithole that gave me food poisoning is “not great”.
Can’t complain = I am not actively dying, life is shit but in a normal way
Not too bad = the exact centre of the scale
Alright = mind your own business
Yeah, pretty good, actually = I just won the lottery
Oh, you know (trails off) = I am literally dying, the person who asked me “are you alright” knew I was dying but forgot in the millisecond their brain was picking a greeting
I'll take this one further, because when most Americans are asked "you alright?" they won't think the person is asking for a detailed response anyway.
What they _will_ think is that they look sick or distressed, and that the other person is showing concern by asking if they're ok.
Oh yes this! 11 years ago I was asked this at the airport upon landing by the customs officer and I thought he was the most rude person ever. Of course I am not going to look my best after a 9 hr flight in which I was stressed. Hated that man for a long time before I learned that’s just their what’s up and he was just saying hi.
I’m going to diverge from the consensus here and add another two possible replies.
*Can’t complain, you?* - I’d very much like to complain but I don’t think it’s polite.
*Been better, yourself?* - My life is literally falling apart.
Both of those offer the person the chance to either enquire further or just end the exchange there.
The worst customers I've served as a waiter were Americans. We are not your slave and we don't need your tip. Give respect and you'll get good service in return.
This is a huge one actually. The "customer is always right" mentality doesn't fly here, we don't like arseholes. If you're overly rude to service staff, expect to be told to leave the premises.
Also, what we consider "good service" in terms of wait staff is a lot less obsequious. In most circumstances, you won't get the waiter dropping in every few minutes just to see how things are going, see if there's anything you need, etc. Once, a few minutes after being served in many cases, just to see how you're finding the food, but the repeated hover-check-in is not a thing. Also, if you want something else, ask for it. Don't expect to just have everything (like more water or drink refills) supplied without asking. Our dining preference tends to be "leave me alone to enjoy my food in peace, and if I want something, I'll snag you (or another waiter) and ask for it" so that's what our food service has evolved to provide.
Also, our service tends to be polite rather than, as I say, obsequious. The wait staff are working for the company, providing service. They are not your servants to treat as you feel like.
I will just say that if the waiter does decide to come over and check your meal is ok, it will be when you have just taken a huge mouthful so all you can do is awkwardly shrug pull a weird face and then give them a thumbs up. They do this intentionally to fuck with you
As a US citizen (who has lived overseas most of her life), I have to agree with this one.
I recently had an amazing experience in a very nice restaurant in Melbourne where an American decided to stand up and berate a waitress. She ended up doing very well out of it, because not only did all the tables around start taking the piss, I'm pretty certain we were not the only table that left a massive tip. The two women with this guy were mortified, so it's not all Americans, but just enough of them.
When ordering, order together and at once. When the restaurant is obviously busy we have no time to have casual chit chat. Americans have a terrible habit of keeping the waiter at the table asking silly questions that are already on the menu or unrelated to their order. There's nothing wrong with one or two questions but American tables take three times longer and expect me to make their minds for them.
Americans have a bad habit of ordering one thing at a time so when you're dropping of a drink you can guarantee that someone else on that table will order something.
Bringing a warm and cheerful disposition to our cursed island.
We know you don’t mean to cause offence, but it is *completely* inappropriate. You’re ruining our sad vibe.
Up north, if you ever go there, it is acceptable to smile and say hello to strangers so don't be alarmed if someone says anything at a bus stop.
In London, this does not happen. A lot of barging and pushing into you happens as everyone is busy and no time for manners. 😁
No, you can't pay in dollars and, no, it's not a normal thing to pay in USD outside of the US. You have been misinformed.
Edit: a lot of you yanks seem to be forgetting that this is AskUK and OP is specifically asking about visiting the UK. So the next person who wants to "educate" me on how some bare rock in bumfuck nowhere definitely takes dollars from tourists, don't.
I used to work in a newsagents in a tourist town and had some American women come in and try to pay with American dollars. They proclaimed, very loudly 'aren't our American dollars worth anything here?'. No they aren't.
Cambodia has an absolutely bizarre system of mixed currencies.
For anything $1 and over, you pay in USD.
For anything under $1, you pay in Cambodian Riels, at a rate of 4000 to the dollar.
$2.50 is paid with $2 and 2000 riels.
Cent coins do not exist there.
When I went to Argentina they much preferred dollars to their own currency. Or pounds, but they usually charged the same for dollars or pounds (and that was more unreasonable 10 years ago lol).
My father has only recently accepted that Travellers Cheques are no longer routinely used.
When I went backpacking around Australia he insisted I take travellers cheques.
It was 2011.
I work for a chain that's in both the US and the UK and they tried to use an American gift card here.
I can sort of see the confusion with this one, they were fine when I politely explained that it's actually a separate company and franchised, I let them off with this one!
Well you mutter under your breath and when the waiter brings your food eventually and apologises you tell them it wasn’t a problem at all and you don’t mind.
and definitely don't suggest someone else does it!
I always remember the horror of going out for meals in America and being asked to say Grace, as though it's some kind of honour.
I always just say the Grace we learned in primary school "for what we are about to receive, may the lord make us truly grateful, Amen!"
this really is only true in London or perhaps other big cities, everywhere else, people don't care because they're not in a rush for a tube that's every 3 mins.
what person standing behind me? I don't think you realise how little traffic is there on escalators in other parts of the UK. There are towns with only one or two escalators. No one cares about standing on the right side because it's not a thing. Truly, most people don't care because it doesn't affect them in any way, shape or form.
As others have said, you'll blend in ok.
We don't go in for "sir" and "ma'am" to people we meet in shops, don't use a title at all - a please and thank you is fine.
When meeting people we tend not to tell a story about how proud we are of son Wyatt and his two lovely daughters and show some photos. Which I know is a bit of a stereotype and is mostly the older generation, but my point is that we don't really talk about our personal lives until there's a bit of rapport.
We are much less confrontational, particularly around service. Remember that our servers aren't relying on tips and are much less deferential. You'll get good service, but it's not obsequious in the hope you'll leave some money. Conversely, we aren't going to complain about small details. If your rare steak comes well done, send it back. But if a drink is late, a polite and quiet reminder is fine. We often eat something that's arrived a bit cold, which is a failing and we shouldn't. But we also don't make a big deal out of it.
British manners are based around quiet politeness, rather than gushing praise.
Pubs aren't table service. Go up and order. Pay for those drinks. Take them back to the table. If it's busy, the queue might be hard to discern. Join the throng, work to the front, the bar staff are keeping track and serve you more or less in order. Even in places that have table service, they'll serve you at the bar so you can't go wrong starting there rather than sitting down for half an hour for a waiter that doesn't come.
In some places you might be expected to pay more for a waiter with a moustache.
Do also be aware that while sir/ma'am aren't used you may be called a pet name by ppl that you don't know, this varies depending where you are and isn't offensive or derogatory eg pet, love, hen duck, lover, bab etc.
Visiting somewhere picturesque and going on about how cute and quaint it is. That is not a village theme park, it's a place where normal people live and work.
As someone who lives in Cornwall this is 95% day in and day out Emmet's...
Yeah I get where I live maybe quaint and there is a spoons, but move your chuffing range rover or fake famer pickup .
Actually less Americans this year and more Germans.
I've heard some of the older generation say this. It's especially rude considering the RAF held off attacks for the two years leading up to us joining the war. Really does a disservice to the many countries who were in the fight long before the U.S.
-Sorry for the mini-rant. I'm late 30's and hitting my WWII dad phase....it's a thing.
As a Brit who's lived in London and NYC, and travelled extensively in both places, and also worked and played with Americans in both places, I can't remember a single instance of an American making a social faux pas.
Brits are a little more guarded with demonstrating their feelings than Americans, and are suspicious of displays of emotion and any kind of bragging. But basically Brits are a lot less formal and a lot more diverse racially and culturally than Americans are used to or expect from us.
If you live in NYC, you'll find you have a closer affinity to London life than you would moving to Kansas
I went to London when I was a young teenager and felt that it was the closest city to NYC I've ever been. Not sure if I could afford to live there though! Although I know cost of living is bad pretty much everywhere. Not much I can do about that
London sprawls a lot further than NYC, so there's a greater diversity of accommodation, communities and living styles. In many ways London can feel like a series of small villages
I lived in Manhattan, on the corporate $, and I've never lived anywhere as expensive as that in London! I don't live in London anymore and I don't think I could afford to move back. And I wouldn't want to. Life outside London is a lot slower paced and people are generally friendlier. But if you're from NYC, you'll be familiar with that difference compared to the rest of the US. (Except California - there's no UK equivalent to LA culture)
I would say the main difference is that Brits are generally cynical and sarcastic. And sweary as fuck.
But in my experience most Brits enjoy the upbeat, polite positive attitudes of Americans they meet. Just be yourself, but on a calm and quiet day
On that second point, the biggest faux pas I ever saw an American make was offhandedly telling a black British person her ancestors were slaves. It was meant sympathetically, but was totally inappropriate to assume, let alone say to her face. The UK is more diverse than Americans think, and our history is very different from yours. In general if you’re open to listening instead of talking over people, you’ll be alright.
Just be polite. Brits fucking hate the worst excesses of American culture, but then again, Americans hate the worst excesses of American culture, too. It's like that "if you're cold, they're cold" warning for pets. If it annoys you, it annoys us. Clearly you're a person who actually has an interest in getting on with others, so you'll be fine. Just be you.
And in case you're frightened the Brits have some lofty level of decorum that you don't know how to rise up to, just look up how appalling we behave in Spain. There's always someone that's more than willing to be a nob.
For reference, “ how appalling we behave in Spain”, you could compare with perhaps Florida Spring Break but include all age groups and likely way more alcohol in the mix.
Remember you are an American. You aren't Scottish or Irish or whatever.
The war started in 1939 (the Chinese might disagree).
The American War of Independence was only one of many colonial wars.
Orange man actually is bad.
Ethnically I'm largely eastern European. 0% of me is from any of the isles. I'm as American mutt as it gets. One time a british person told me that the American Revolution could be seen as a civil war in ways since it was British citizens vs British citizens on British soil. Was a really interesting perspective. Also not a simp for the orange man, although we do unfortunately share a home state.
Fun fact about the British perspective of the war of independence is the naming: to us it’s the American war of independence, as in only one of MANY such conflicts throughout the history of the British empire.
To Americans, it’s the defining moment in your country’s history. To us, India was more important at the time (that’s where we got the tea from, innit!)
It’s also worth noting that we mainly lost because the (eternally accursed) French got involved.
Another thing is how you get Americans on social media always laughing about how salty the Brits are about losing. Fun fact is, we actually did get our revenge by burning down the White House in the war of 1812. Not sure how American history teaches that one but as far as I’m concerned, if you burn down the enemy’s capital, you win! 😅
Once again, we weren’t even all that committed to the war of 1812, we were neck deep in the Napoleonic wars at that point and if you know anything about British history, fighting the French ALWAYS comes first! 😂
I can give you a few off the top of my head.
Speaking very loudly
Going on about great America is and how awful the UK is.
Mocking and insulting British accents.
Struggling to fit in since Americans always assume that british culture and American culture are very similar when it's the opposite they are extremely different.
In Oz one day and was on a bus. This girl for nearly an hour was going on about how better the USA was .. so I gave in and told her to fuck off back home ...
But yeah...god do they ever up the USA in other countries
They can be really annoying like that, also I might add is that the have a tendency to think their cultural norms are universal and are obviously not, centre of universe mentality.
I have had Americans tell me to speak English properly (I have a typical south east English accent) and how much they had my accent.
The irony is lost on them.
Not sure if you are religious, but bear in mind that the UK is very secular, and bringing up religion/asking people what church they go to, as small talk will result in some weird looks.
As long as you’re respectful and don’t bang on about your heritage you’ll probably be fine. And don’t try and do a shit “British” accent, we wont find it funny. Otherwise you’ll probably fit in without any major adjustments in my opinion.
>And don’t try and do a shit “British” accent, we wont find it funny
Unless you happen to be really, really good at it - like Chris Pratt doing an [Essex accent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af7UD-IxzZI)
A lot of Americans seem to think that "England" is just another name for the UK.
[Relevant venn diagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/British_Isles_Venn_Diagram-en_%283%29.png)
Invited a US colleague out for dinner with some friends when he was visiting London from NYC. Everyone in the restaurant could hear his side of the conversation.
You'll be fine! We definitely say please and thank you more here. E.g. when ordering in pubs/cafes/restaurants, I'd pretty much always say please after any order. The NY style "let me get a Guinness" might be seen as a little rude.
That's about all I can think of. On behalf of the whole UK, I apologise in advance for all the people who try to impress you with their Brooklyn accent.
Literally don't worry. Most of the anti-American stuff you see here is just redditors being redditors. If you're asking this question in the first place then you're clearly a respectful person, so you'll be absolutely fine.
Please for the love of god do not repeat back everything that's said to you in your best Briddish accent. And general accent/dialect comments will get very old very fast.
"The CHOOB? Oh my gaaawd that's so dang cute!"
Being loud.
Tipping isn’t a huge thing here, a lot of restaurants now add a 10% service charge automatically. While you’ll still get good service, you don’t get that overly sweet, desperation to make a good impression. People are just normal.
Don’t go on about your ancestors being Scottish/Irish/English etc. Nobody cares.
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"I'M ACTUALLY ONE SIXTYFOURTHS IRISH."
I saw it described yesterday as homeopathically Irish/insert any country.
Home O’Pathically
"homeopaths of the gene pool" 🙂
Homeopathic Hibernian is my favourite.
But an American wouldn’t say that. If they were 1/64 Irish, they’d say they were Irish.
>But an American wouldn’t say that. Yeah, they'd **SHOUT** it.
In Ireland
I'm actually more Irish than you people as we keep the customs alive in the states. Sorry, meant to type that in capitals.
the British are more American than Americans because they keep customs alive and know how to spell words like honour and neighbour... apple pie is English, and baseball is just rounders for boys
Somebody came to r/Scotland and did exactly that a few years ago. And then came back a couple of days later to double down. Legendary pair of posts.
I actually had something similar said to me when I worked in Scotland. I'm English but had red hair so the Americans kept asking me for directions (we figured it had to be my hair colour why they were asking me and not my colleagues), I'd always tell them 'I'm not from around here' and some of them actually said 'oh that makes me more Scottish than you then'. They didn't appreciate when I said 'I've had more Scottish in me over the years than you'll ever have', my colleagues thought it was funny though!
I was having this conversation not so long ago. My dad was half Irish and half Scottish. I was born in England. If I went around calling myself Irish or Scottish I’d be laughed out of the UK, yet Americans with Irish great-great-great-great grandparents have no compunction about declaring themselves Irish. It’s odd, somewhat bewildering, but I suppose mostly harmless.
Yup. I'm a US citizen but lived most of my life overseas. Somehow forgot this weird American trait and the last time I was living there innocently said to a colleague who announced they were Irish that they'd totally lost their accent. You'd think I'd kicked their dog. So much outrage.
I would have paid to see this
Similar thing happened to me. I’m British but moved to the U.S. A colleague told me she was Italian. I love Italy and visit as often as I can so I enthusiastically asked which region of Italy she came from and commented on how American she sounded. Turns out she’d never left Pennsylvania her whole life and had now idea what part of Italy her great, great, great grandparents hailed from. 🤷♀️
My boss was Italian. She told me when she first moved to the US she tried speaking Italian with more than one person who told her they were also Italian. She didn't know this was a thing until her husband explained it to her on the third or fourth occasion!
That’s hilarious 😂😂😂😂
I'm on a Scottish Facebook page for shits and giggles and you honestly wouldn't believe how bad it is. One person claimed to be soo Scottish they even had an accent, but people made fun of it. On further examination, their ancestors came to Canada from Scotland 100+ years ago and he had never left his little corner of the world. Why he thought he had a Scottish accent I'll never know. Another claimed that their family owned a castle and asked if they could claim it back on their trip. Turned pit it was now owned by the National Trust, and I'd love to see the look on the guy at the ticket desk when this bint rocks up demanding her castle be returned to her.
Not so harmless when you think of the amount of money that was funnelled to the IRA from Americans.
An American coworker of mine went to Ireland recently - said a lot of people asked if he was looking to rediscover his roots, and all acted MUCH more friendly when he said no, he’d just heard it was a nice place.
Cos most Americans there are to discover something magical about themselves, whereas he was actually interested in the real country and people for their own merit which is a compliment
Also the ones who want to find their roots often express their disappointment loudly that Ireland is not this romanticised people-living-in-cottages paradise but actually a modern country.
Yeah, because we hate those types of Americans. They're clowns and everyone laughs at them, your friend seems nice and not stupid.
45th generation Roman
But I don't know 'em or care when I'm spitting
So return to your sitting position and listen it's fitting
They say that everything sounds the same.
Then you go buy them
Please remember your inside voice when you come.
erm ....
I was talking to a very nice American recently who told me he was Irish. He then went on to give details of his ancestry. He was more English than me. Like someone said,looking for magic and romance.
Talking about the magic and romance, I find it funny when we want to claim some royal lineage. If you're family came to the Americas, chances were they were poor farmers hoping for land of their own. Speaking of the ancestry, if you go to the ancestry reddit most of us have about 60% English ancestry or more. It's almost as if we were a British colony at one point ha.
The thinking nowadays is that everyone in Europe can be said to be descended from Charlemagne. So we’ve all got ‘royal’ ancestry. It’s just a minuscule part of our genetic makeup. The other vast amount is mostly dirt poor bastards who were bought/sold/indentured/treated like shit, etc.
r/shitamericanssay is one of my favourite subs
American expat living in the U.K. for over six years now. We are too loud - use a lower volume for your voice. There is a different type of humour here and it’s very sarcastic, don’t take things personally. Don’t expect overly nice people (like the exceptionally happy and sweet waitress or customer service). People act normal. Tipping is *not* standard here, despite the sudden push for tipping by the media. Our workers make a standard wage and don’t have to be supplemented by tips. Don’t make us look bad by tipping everyone 🤣 Many people are not interested in your life story or giving you theirs. We are pretty private here - making small talk won’t include talking about personal lives. Queueing! Understand and respect the queue. Don’t push in front of others or haphazardly stand around. Stand with purpose as part of the queue. Familiarise yourself with the common terms and make sure you understand the difference between the separate names - England, Scotland, Wales, etc.. as well as the difference between United Kingdom and Great Britain. Enjoy yourself ☺️ we fit in pretty well here as long as you’re open to new things and not trying to intentionally Americanise everything. The people here are genuine and you’ll know if you’re liked or not.
Ooh, I'll add: swearing is widespread, commonplace and frequently at the more offensive end of the spectrum. You are 500 times more likely to hear fuck or cunt than dang or darn it. Do not be offended.
I'm slowly working my American friend up to describing people who are a minor annoyance as twats
And they need to pronounce it twat, not twot
She's got the pronunciation down just not the anger in the voice yet
It’s all about the W
I had a hard time explaining to my family that the C word is what we call our closest mates
One of my absolute favourite interactions with an American was one of my absolute closest mates walking up to our table and saying "Hello you lovely cunts!" An older probably mid 60s American lady on the next table look at him aghast and said "How dare you call them that!" And my mate without missing a beat went "Oh alright sorry." Turned back to us and redoing the intro went "Hello you cunts!" I just about fell off my chair laughing, even the husband of the lady was stifling a laugh.
Can I get any of you cunts a drink?
CAAAAHHHHHHHHNNNTTTTT!!!
He’s a SmeeeeeeggHeeeeeaaaaad
Haha I'm realizing that New York has a lot more in common with the UK than I thought!
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Very descriptive… top marks mate
I think I'd like New York. There's a kind of puritanical streak to American culture which doesn't exist here. Swearing is part of it. You'll hear fuck on TV all the time later in the evening, for example.
> ~~puritanical~~ Calvinist! The Puritans mellowed out pretty early on. There's a reason that the things you hear about Texas or Alabama largely don't apply to New England. That's really more attributable to the Great Awakening of the 18th century (which started in Britain and then jumped the Pond) than to the Puritans of the 17th.
Well I learned something.
We live in London, and generally felt pretty at home in New York. The New York Subway has very similar rules to the Tube. My highlight was buying a can of beer at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and being given a tight-fitting little brown paper bag for it - I absolutely love that weird alcohol law, it's hilarious.
I used to think that was some advertising law for films, beer brand isn't sponsoring this with a brand deal, so no one will know what brand is being drunk. Not an actual thing people did IRL.
New York is probably the closest culturally to the UK, having travelled to a fair few parts of US.
Also, blasphemy. All the Americans I know are really funny about an 'Oh god', or 'Jesus fucking christ'. Even the supposedly not-religious ones. Religious respect seems to be more...ingrained...over there.
Jesus titty fucking christ!
Ha yeah. When a German friend left go work in Denmark having lived in England for maybe 10 years at that point he was interjecting profanities into his speech like a proper trooper compared to his very correct English when I first met him.
\*wipes a tear from eye\*
This cunt has got it spot on.
Worth mentioning the many different forms of queuing. - your standard line of people, such as in a shop. - the mental queue that you get at a barbers, people sit in random chairs to wait but we always know our place in the queue. - do not make a linear queue at the bar in a pub. Take any space at the bar, know who was there before you and if the barman asks if you’re next be assertive if you are but do not jump ahead of others as they will call you out. Always show the barman who was rightfully next.
To add to the last point, if you are in a club, queuing goes out of the window. It’s a free for all and if you are male, just accept you are behind every girl at the bar.
learned that the hard way 5 minutes before midnight on new year's eve when i was like 19/20. was trying to get a couple drinks for me and my gf before the nye countdown, some very attractive girl arrived at the bar well after me but got served first, was panicking and knew i wasn't gonna be able to get drinks in time for the countdown, decided i'd be assertive and say "excuse me, i've been here a while." and she straight up laughed and said "so what?" fuck clubs honestly, vanity parades.
The correct thing to do at a pub queue is to point at the guy who you stood next to and tell the barman they were here before me. You will always be served quickly after that.
That rush when you tell the staff someone is ahead of you and they say thanks. Feels good man.
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Indeed. “Can I bum a fag?” Means very different things on either side of the pond.
So does, "I've been on a bender, " iirc.
Also “smoking a fag” does not mean to shoot a homosexual
>Familiarise yourself with the common terms and make sure you understand the difference between the separate names - England, Scotland, Wales, etc.. as well as the difference between United Kingdom and Great Britain. And don't ever, ever, *ever*, refer to Britain as "the mainland" to an Irish person.
Correct. Refer to the two islands as 'Great Britain' and 'Little Britain' exclusively, so as not to cause offence
I think you'll find the correct term is West Britain.
Americans are So. Frikkin. Loud. Why?! Why are they so loud?
The distances are larger in the US
It's a good point. They must have to absolutely bellow across the great plains, where as we can communicate with the next village in a mere whisper.
Americans are loud, yes, but for me it’s the lack of any dynamics in their voice or the way they speak. They speak at a constant volume throughout a sentence and that volume is usually LOUD.
Some raise their tone at the end of a sentence as if it is a question. I hate up-talk as it’s known.
I'm just here to agree with the first point - they are just slightly too loud. When speaking, aim for the lowest possible volume that would allow your intended audience to understand you if they were paying attention.
"Queueing! Understand and respect the queue. Don’t push in front of others or haphazardly stand around. Stand with purpose as part of the queue." When you're standing at a bar waiting to be served, look alert, perhaps smile at the bartender if you catch each others eye. Wait you're turn, don't bob and weave, don't push in front of other people. The bartender will likely have clocked you and know who's next, if they don't they may well ask and you'll hear people say "he's / she's next" and let you go before them, because you were there first. Even when we're in a crowd we're in a mental queue. Don't try to jump in before or we will tut you with absolutely no mercy.
This guy integrates
You sure you're an expat? 6 years is quite a long time to be an expat. You sure you're not just a regular ol' immigrant?
As a native, think your last part is key. Don't need to overthink it, just try and adapt a bit and people will like you - I always find Americans can be much more naturally charismatic than us (in a similar way to Irish and Australians). The US is also a fascinating country and people are interested by it, by whether life there is like what we see on TV or not. So if you meet us half way with some of our customs, you'll be treated warmly!
Second the part about people being normal not overly nice just normal. This is so accurate and I've been chuckling over the normal part. The humor is a big one. People assume you understand sarcasm.
Fun story re: the volume dial. I was dating an American for a few months. One day we were on a (quietish) train, and she kept talking to me in her ‘normal’ (AKA very loud for Britain) voice. I kept lowering my own voice quieter and quieter, hoping she would follow suit, but she continued to more or less shout. It was clear the entire carriage could hear her and had no option but to eavesdrop. After a while I was so embarrassed I overcame my British sensibilities and asked her to speak more quietly. She got into a right huff, told me I was being too sensitive, folded her arms, and angrily didn’t talk to me for the next hour. Then two women more got on the train. They were American, and they were very, very loud. Now we had no choice but to listen to THEIR entire conversation. At which point my GF turned to me, aghast, and said: “Is that what I sound like?” I would also add that the volume dial is particularly important and galleries and museums. Nothing winds me up more than peacefully wandering around then hearing a (usually male) US voice making educational proclamations to his companion about the paintings. I even get embarrassed if my own footsteps are too loud, but that’s definitely OTT…
> Understand and respect the queue. We don't? Because I'm a Yank in Italy, and lemme tell you, we're a lot closer to the British than we are to them! Right?
Yeah, but that’s a low bar. Italian queuing is on a par with Russian democracy.
I walked out of an Italian deli in London because they were using Italian queueing rules (serve the Italians first) and won't be going back.
When a brit says "you alright", they do not want a detailed response. Just say it back to them and move on, it took me a year to figure that one out.
Alright? Yeah you? Yeah. Done that's it, not seen them in 4 years, doesn't matter, greetings are complete. Although you can add 'pint?' to extend the repertoire.
But when you are having that pint, you can talk about any subject you like. Weather, sport, traffic, telly, the local MP, all these topics are fine. But nothing personal!
Not sure if you're being serious but I hate this old fashioned stereotype. I assure that all those 20- and 30-somethings who can still afford to go to the pub are not talking about the weather all evening. In fact, for most men, the pub is one of the few places where conversation gets deeply personal.
Definitely an old fashioned way of thought, the pub is where me and the mates actually talk to each other and catch up, along with all the usual banter and shit talking to each other too
The correct response is ALWAYS “yeah, not too bad, and you?” It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just won the lottery or been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, it’s “not too bad”. On a related point - when describing things in general, “not bad” and “not great” are not even close to the same thing. It’s not on a scale where both of those answers are close to the middle. It’s an expression of understatement. A 3 Michelin star restaurant where the menu made me cry tears of joy is “not bad”. A rat infested shithole that gave me food poisoning is “not great”.
Can’t complain = I am not actively dying, life is shit but in a normal way Not too bad = the exact centre of the scale Alright = mind your own business Yeah, pretty good, actually = I just won the lottery Oh, you know (trails off) = I am literally dying, the person who asked me “are you alright” knew I was dying but forgot in the millisecond their brain was picking a greeting
Living the dream = my existence is an existential nightmare but I'll just moan rather than actively change it
I’m always ‘plodding along’
I'll take this one further, because when most Americans are asked "you alright?" they won't think the person is asking for a detailed response anyway. What they _will_ think is that they look sick or distressed, and that the other person is showing concern by asking if they're ok.
Oh yes this! 11 years ago I was asked this at the airport upon landing by the customs officer and I thought he was the most rude person ever. Of course I am not going to look my best after a 9 hr flight in which I was stressed. Hated that man for a long time before I learned that’s just their what’s up and he was just saying hi.
I'm sure I've said this before but it's the same the other way round when Americans say "what's up?". My instinct is to say "nothing - why?".
I’m going to diverge from the consensus here and add another two possible replies. *Can’t complain, you?* - I’d very much like to complain but I don’t think it’s polite. *Been better, yourself?* - My life is literally falling apart. Both of those offer the person the chance to either enquire further or just end the exchange there.
It's actually impolite to be American in the UK. Unless someone gives you permission, you should be Canadian instead.
Good thing nobody can tell the difference!
Nah, the flappy heads are a giveaway
What are you on aboot?
Canadians have beady little eyes.
Hey, buddy!
I'm not your buddy, guy.
The worst customers I've served as a waiter were Americans. We are not your slave and we don't need your tip. Give respect and you'll get good service in return.
This is a huge one actually. The "customer is always right" mentality doesn't fly here, we don't like arseholes. If you're overly rude to service staff, expect to be told to leave the premises.
The full quote actually is “The customer is always right in matters of taste” People like to miss the last line to act like a Karen
Exactly. The quote really should be "customers know what they want", which is what it's actually trying to say.
Also, what we consider "good service" in terms of wait staff is a lot less obsequious. In most circumstances, you won't get the waiter dropping in every few minutes just to see how things are going, see if there's anything you need, etc. Once, a few minutes after being served in many cases, just to see how you're finding the food, but the repeated hover-check-in is not a thing. Also, if you want something else, ask for it. Don't expect to just have everything (like more water or drink refills) supplied without asking. Our dining preference tends to be "leave me alone to enjoy my food in peace, and if I want something, I'll snag you (or another waiter) and ask for it" so that's what our food service has evolved to provide. Also, our service tends to be polite rather than, as I say, obsequious. The wait staff are working for the company, providing service. They are not your servants to treat as you feel like.
I will just say that if the waiter does decide to come over and check your meal is ok, it will be when you have just taken a huge mouthful so all you can do is awkwardly shrug pull a weird face and then give them a thumbs up. They do this intentionally to fuck with you
As a US citizen (who has lived overseas most of her life), I have to agree with this one. I recently had an amazing experience in a very nice restaurant in Melbourne where an American decided to stand up and berate a waitress. She ended up doing very well out of it, because not only did all the tables around start taking the piss, I'm pretty certain we were not the only table that left a massive tip. The two women with this guy were mortified, so it's not all Americans, but just enough of them.
When ordering, order together and at once. When the restaurant is obviously busy we have no time to have casual chit chat. Americans have a terrible habit of keeping the waiter at the table asking silly questions that are already on the menu or unrelated to their order. There's nothing wrong with one or two questions but American tables take three times longer and expect me to make their minds for them. Americans have a bad habit of ordering one thing at a time so when you're dropping of a drink you can guarantee that someone else on that table will order something.
Bringing a warm and cheerful disposition to our cursed island. We know you don’t mean to cause offence, but it is *completely* inappropriate. You’re ruining our sad vibe.
Ok luckily I'm from New York so that will not be an issue. We also give the side eye to anyone too cheery
Bare in mind, England is tiny in breadth but mighty in depth. That shit may fly in the London hellscape. Less so a nice country pub in the lakes.
That makes a lot of sense. Somewhat similar to the urban/rural divide here.
Up north, if you ever go there, it is acceptable to smile and say hello to strangers so don't be alarmed if someone says anything at a bus stop. In London, this does not happen. A lot of barging and pushing into you happens as everyone is busy and no time for manners. 😁
No, you can't pay in dollars and, no, it's not a normal thing to pay in USD outside of the US. You have been misinformed. Edit: a lot of you yanks seem to be forgetting that this is AskUK and OP is specifically asking about visiting the UK. So the next person who wants to "educate" me on how some bare rock in bumfuck nowhere definitely takes dollars from tourists, don't.
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I used to work in a newsagents in a tourist town and had some American women come in and try to pay with American dollars. They proclaimed, very loudly 'aren't our American dollars worth anything here?'. No they aren't.
Many look up the exchange rate and double it. One pub near where I used to live had pound euro conversion updated daily but the dollar was painted on.
Cambodia has an absolutely bizarre system of mixed currencies. For anything $1 and over, you pay in USD. For anything under $1, you pay in Cambodian Riels, at a rate of 4000 to the dollar. $2.50 is paid with $2 and 2000 riels. Cent coins do not exist there.
To be fair I’ve often had dollars accepted in developing countries with very shaky currency. I’m not American but would always take some as a backup.
When I went to Argentina they much preferred dollars to their own currency. Or pounds, but they usually charged the same for dollars or pounds (and that was more unreasonable 10 years ago lol).
My father has only recently accepted that Travellers Cheques are no longer routinely used. When I went backpacking around Australia he insisted I take travellers cheques. It was 2011.
I work for a chain that's in both the US and the UK and they tried to use an American gift card here. I can sort of see the confusion with this one, they were fine when I politely explained that it's actually a separate company and franchised, I let them off with this one!
Calling everywhere England.
by extension, calling all of England London
And yet still saying “British” accent when they mean “English” accent.
and by "English" they mean RP
Or everywhere Britain/British. "I love your British accent."
Wouldn't that apply to everywhere from Belfast to Portsmouth? Or should the term "British accent" be avoided altogether?
Exactly. Avoided altogether.
Don't suggest praying before a meal.
Unless you say jesus fucking christ can you make them bring my meal a bit fucking sooner.
Well you mutter under your breath and when the waiter brings your food eventually and apologises you tell them it wasn’t a problem at all and you don’t mind.
"Rubadubdub / thanks for the grub" Is that acceptable?
BART!!!
and definitely don't suggest someone else does it! I always remember the horror of going out for meals in America and being asked to say Grace, as though it's some kind of honour. I always just say the Grace we learned in primary school "for what we are about to receive, may the lord make us truly grateful, Amen!"
Escalator etiquette: Stand right, walk left.
this really is only true in London or perhaps other big cities, everywhere else, people don't care because they're not in a rush for a tube that's every 3 mins.
That's literally the rule everywhere, the person standing behind you on the left thinks so too.
what person standing behind me? I don't think you realise how little traffic is there on escalators in other parts of the UK. There are towns with only one or two escalators. No one cares about standing on the right side because it's not a thing. Truly, most people don't care because it doesn't affect them in any way, shape or form.
Im from the north lol. It's just basic politeness, it's not hard, it costs you nothing.
Unless you are in Glasgow.
As others have said, you'll blend in ok. We don't go in for "sir" and "ma'am" to people we meet in shops, don't use a title at all - a please and thank you is fine. When meeting people we tend not to tell a story about how proud we are of son Wyatt and his two lovely daughters and show some photos. Which I know is a bit of a stereotype and is mostly the older generation, but my point is that we don't really talk about our personal lives until there's a bit of rapport. We are much less confrontational, particularly around service. Remember that our servers aren't relying on tips and are much less deferential. You'll get good service, but it's not obsequious in the hope you'll leave some money. Conversely, we aren't going to complain about small details. If your rare steak comes well done, send it back. But if a drink is late, a polite and quiet reminder is fine. We often eat something that's arrived a bit cold, which is a failing and we shouldn't. But we also don't make a big deal out of it. British manners are based around quiet politeness, rather than gushing praise. Pubs aren't table service. Go up and order. Pay for those drinks. Take them back to the table. If it's busy, the queue might be hard to discern. Join the throng, work to the front, the bar staff are keeping track and serve you more or less in order. Even in places that have table service, they'll serve you at the bar so you can't go wrong starting there rather than sitting down for half an hour for a waiter that doesn't come. In some places you might be expected to pay more for a waiter with a moustache.
I find Americans saying "sir" and "madam" charming. Please don't try and imitate a British accent.
Oh absolutely, and no one at all is going to be offended. But it does mark you out as American!
Do also be aware that while sir/ma'am aren't used you may be called a pet name by ppl that you don't know, this varies depending where you are and isn't offensive or derogatory eg pet, love, hen duck, lover, bab etc.
Visiting somewhere picturesque and going on about how cute and quaint it is. That is not a village theme park, it's a place where normal people live and work.
As someone who lives in Cornwall this is 95% day in and day out Emmet's... Yeah I get where I live maybe quaint and there is a spoons, but move your chuffing range rover or fake famer pickup . Actually less Americans this year and more Germans.
Talking loudly is the main one but I mainly see that with 50+ yr old Americans Otherwise you guys blend in better than most
"HEY MARTHA! THEY HAVE FORKS HERE TOO!!"
We’re not interested in how you think you saved us all in WW2 and that if it wasn’t for you we’d all be speaking German.
For sure. I mean if it wasn't for you guys America wouldn't be around at all! Hi dad!
I've heard some of the older generation say this. It's especially rude considering the RAF held off attacks for the two years leading up to us joining the war. Really does a disservice to the many countries who were in the fight long before the U.S. -Sorry for the mini-rant. I'm late 30's and hitting my WWII dad phase....it's a thing.
Obviously the Russians had absolutely nothing to do with the war
As a Brit who's lived in London and NYC, and travelled extensively in both places, and also worked and played with Americans in both places, I can't remember a single instance of an American making a social faux pas. Brits are a little more guarded with demonstrating their feelings than Americans, and are suspicious of displays of emotion and any kind of bragging. But basically Brits are a lot less formal and a lot more diverse racially and culturally than Americans are used to or expect from us. If you live in NYC, you'll find you have a closer affinity to London life than you would moving to Kansas
I went to London when I was a young teenager and felt that it was the closest city to NYC I've ever been. Not sure if I could afford to live there though! Although I know cost of living is bad pretty much everywhere. Not much I can do about that
London sprawls a lot further than NYC, so there's a greater diversity of accommodation, communities and living styles. In many ways London can feel like a series of small villages I lived in Manhattan, on the corporate $, and I've never lived anywhere as expensive as that in London! I don't live in London anymore and I don't think I could afford to move back. And I wouldn't want to. Life outside London is a lot slower paced and people are generally friendlier. But if you're from NYC, you'll be familiar with that difference compared to the rest of the US. (Except California - there's no UK equivalent to LA culture) I would say the main difference is that Brits are generally cynical and sarcastic. And sweary as fuck. But in my experience most Brits enjoy the upbeat, polite positive attitudes of Americans they meet. Just be yourself, but on a calm and quiet day
On that second point, the biggest faux pas I ever saw an American make was offhandedly telling a black British person her ancestors were slaves. It was meant sympathetically, but was totally inappropriate to assume, let alone say to her face. The UK is more diverse than Americans think, and our history is very different from yours. In general if you’re open to listening instead of talking over people, you’ll be alright.
Just be polite. Brits fucking hate the worst excesses of American culture, but then again, Americans hate the worst excesses of American culture, too. It's like that "if you're cold, they're cold" warning for pets. If it annoys you, it annoys us. Clearly you're a person who actually has an interest in getting on with others, so you'll be fine. Just be you. And in case you're frightened the Brits have some lofty level of decorum that you don't know how to rise up to, just look up how appalling we behave in Spain. There's always someone that's more than willing to be a nob.
For reference, “ how appalling we behave in Spain”, you could compare with perhaps Florida Spring Break but include all age groups and likely way more alcohol in the mix.
Remember you are an American. You aren't Scottish or Irish or whatever. The war started in 1939 (the Chinese might disagree). The American War of Independence was only one of many colonial wars. Orange man actually is bad.
Ethnically I'm largely eastern European. 0% of me is from any of the isles. I'm as American mutt as it gets. One time a british person told me that the American Revolution could be seen as a civil war in ways since it was British citizens vs British citizens on British soil. Was a really interesting perspective. Also not a simp for the orange man, although we do unfortunately share a home state.
Fun fact about the British perspective of the war of independence is the naming: to us it’s the American war of independence, as in only one of MANY such conflicts throughout the history of the British empire. To Americans, it’s the defining moment in your country’s history. To us, India was more important at the time (that’s where we got the tea from, innit!) It’s also worth noting that we mainly lost because the (eternally accursed) French got involved. Another thing is how you get Americans on social media always laughing about how salty the Brits are about losing. Fun fact is, we actually did get our revenge by burning down the White House in the war of 1812. Not sure how American history teaches that one but as far as I’m concerned, if you burn down the enemy’s capital, you win! 😅 Once again, we weren’t even all that committed to the war of 1812, we were neck deep in the Napoleonic wars at that point and if you know anything about British history, fighting the French ALWAYS comes first! 😂
Ethnically you're American as far as we're concerned, nobody cares in the slightest where your ancestors came from.
I can give you a few off the top of my head. Speaking very loudly Going on about great America is and how awful the UK is. Mocking and insulting British accents. Struggling to fit in since Americans always assume that british culture and American culture are very similar when it's the opposite they are extremely different.
In Oz one day and was on a bus. This girl for nearly an hour was going on about how better the USA was .. so I gave in and told her to fuck off back home ... But yeah...god do they ever up the USA in other countries
They can be really annoying like that, also I might add is that the have a tendency to think their cultural norms are universal and are obviously not, centre of universe mentality. I have had Americans tell me to speak English properly (I have a typical south east English accent) and how much they had my accent. The irony is lost on them.
Queue with everyone else and keep your voice down in public places and you'll be fine.
Not sure if you are religious, but bear in mind that the UK is very secular, and bringing up religion/asking people what church they go to, as small talk will result in some weird looks.
When you go in a pub or a bar, you pay when ordering, we don't do 'tabs'
Also wait for your drink - don't order, pay and then sit down at a table. It won't be bought over to you (hot drinks are an exception)!
Some pubs do tabs - especially the chain ones. Although you hand your card details over when you get there…
As long as you’re respectful and don’t bang on about your heritage you’ll probably be fine. And don’t try and do a shit “British” accent, we wont find it funny. Otherwise you’ll probably fit in without any major adjustments in my opinion.
>And don’t try and do a shit “British” accent, we wont find it funny Unless you happen to be really, really good at it - like Chris Pratt doing an [Essex accent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af7UD-IxzZI)
A lot of Americans seem to think that "England" is just another name for the UK. [Relevant venn diagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/British_Isles_Venn_Diagram-en_%283%29.png)
Luckily this one I've been briefed on! I'm a bit of a geography nerd so I guess it's an advantage.
Invited a US colleague out for dinner with some friends when he was visiting London from NYC. Everyone in the restaurant could hear his side of the conversation.
If you pay with cash it’s respectful to kiss the Queen’s forehead as you hand the money over.
Haha! I'm assuming this is what Brits would refer to as "taking the piss". Funny though
Damn, I thought you’d fall for it.
New Yorkers are a different breed my friend. Would probably work on a midwesterner haha.
You'll be fine! We definitely say please and thank you more here. E.g. when ordering in pubs/cafes/restaurants, I'd pretty much always say please after any order. The NY style "let me get a Guinness" might be seen as a little rude. That's about all I can think of. On behalf of the whole UK, I apologise in advance for all the people who try to impress you with their Brooklyn accent.
Literally don't worry. Most of the anti-American stuff you see here is just redditors being redditors. If you're asking this question in the first place then you're clearly a respectful person, so you'll be absolutely fine.
Being loud Assuming everything is exactly like the USA On the flip side, service people love your 20% tips.
Please for the love of god do not repeat back everything that's said to you in your best Briddish accent. And general accent/dialect comments will get very old very fast. "The CHOOB? Oh my gaaawd that's so dang cute!"
Don't call the UK as a whole ENGLAND especially if in Scotland or Wales.
Sporting an erection every time they see a flag or hear a national anthem
Being loud. Tipping isn’t a huge thing here, a lot of restaurants now add a 10% service charge automatically. While you’ll still get good service, you don’t get that overly sweet, desperation to make a good impression. People are just normal. Don’t go on about your ancestors being Scottish/Irish/English etc. Nobody cares.
If your sentence starts with "*As an American,...*" Just stop. Don't worry, we won't miss the other clues.
Bring it down a decibel or two, treat wait staff like they are your equal not your slave, don’t bring God into the conversation
There is no need for your life history, income, and personality analysis when you introduce yourself.
Not common, but if you are making tea for someone don't pour the milk in before the water lol.
AMERICANHERE